Gathering Music

“I Wanna Be Green”

by Mark Miller

I wanna be green, because I love the earth! 3x
The earth is my home!

Won’t you be green, because you love the earth! 3x
The earth is our home!

A Directional Prayer of Gratitude and Invocation

House of the East:  In this place, where the sun rises, the light, life and love of your creation washes over us.  

Lining out: Here you remind us that each day brings new beginnings.

House of the South:  The warm wind welcomes us to a place of beauty and trust.  Here we pause to remember those who have come before, persons known and unknown, who have enriched our lives.  For those who now walk with us on this life’s journey – wherever they are now – we hold them in our hearts.

Lining out:  We are grateful for your presence through the faces of saints.

House of the West:  Where the sun sets – The glow of light transforms into darkness.  This is a place of introspection and rebirth.

Lining out:  Here your presence reminds us to sort through what will die, what is left behind and what we will carry forward.

House of the North:  The cool breezes beckon us – It is here where we claim the wisdom of our years, the learnings of this journey.  We recognize the impact of our works and our words on future generations.

Lining out:  We encounter you as we cooperate with one another to make real your vision for our world.

Sky/Heaven:  It is here we encounter your abundance beyond our understanding.  We remember Jesus lifting the five loaves and two fish to heaven to bless – and he fed 5000 with more to spare.

Lining out:  We look up and behold your infinity, your immensity. 

Earth:  Here we are on Holy Ground.  In Mother Earth we experience your love, generosity and strength – over and over.  You have provided all we need – Food and water to sustain – Medicine to heal.

Lining Out:  We are surrounded in beauty. 

One:  We are grateful for our communion with one another and with our brothers and sisters of the waters, the air and the land.  We are visitors here – not owners.

Mother Earth is our grandchildren’s inheritance.

Lining out:  May we learn to walk lightly, lovingly on Mother Earth taking only what we need.  

One:  We return to the center of the circle acknowledging all you have done and will do – and all you have given.  

Lining out:  We are grateful.

Song

“Come, Come Whoever You Are”

words by Rumi, music by Dale Zola

Reading

Andrew LaBar-Dietz

by Thoreau

O Nature! I do not aspire
To be the highest in thy choir, –
To be a meteor in thy sky,
Or comet that may range on high;
Only a zephyr that may blow
Among the reeds by the river low;
Give me thy most privy place
Where to run my airy race.

In some withdrawn, unpublic mead
Let me sigh upon a reed,
Or in the woods, with leafy din,
Whisper the still evening in:
Some still work give me to do, –
Only – be it near to you!

For I’d rather be thy child
And pupil, in the forest wild,
Than be the king of men elsewhere,
And most sovereign slave of care;
To have one moment of thy dawn,
Than share the city’s year forlorn.

Song

“I Am Your Mother”

words by Shirley Erena Murray, music by Mark Miller

Reading

by Rabbi Jamie Korngold

The time has come for us to say “No!” to the lures of grandeur that takes us away from the core of our lives and the sounds of our souls. The time has come for us to quiet our lives and mute the distractions of our overstimulated society. The time has come for us to return to Elijah’s wilderness, to hear and see the quiet truths that await us there. 

Scripture

Exodus 3:1-6 (NRSV)

1 Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Meditation – “Notes from Nature”

Beth Norcross

Prayer Walk

Love Feast

Benediction

Beth Norcross

by Anonymous Native American Elder

Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth- our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom you share the earth: Four-legged, two-legged, winged ones, swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty

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Worship Notes: 

Opening Prayer:
When Native Americans gather, whether the setting is secular or religious, it is customary to begin with prayer. Directional prayer is often used to open meetings and gatherings. This way of praying expresses gratitude acknowledges Creator’s omnipresence and raises awareness of our place and connection with creation. This particular prayer is written by Suanne Ware-Diaz (Kiowa) used with permission.

Verses adapted from the prayer, “God of the Horizons”, by Voices of First Women in, Lifting Women’s Voices: Prayers to Change the World. Margaret Rose, Editor. New York: Morehouse Publishing, 2009.